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“You coming?” I asked Meli before shutting the car door.
“I’m coming, I’m coming. ” She typed out a text before throwing her phone into her glove compartment.
After grabbing two bottles of wine and a small flower arrangement, we headed toward the checkout stand. Pictures of Chrystle and Jack’s wedding suddenly appeared in my vision as the tabloid sat in the wire rack, mocking me. My heart pounded, and I couldn’t step forward; my legs trembled forcefully.
And then another sight caught my eye. More pictures of Jack and Chrystle, feeding cake to each other and posing with their bridal party. “Melissa,” I tried to squeak out, but all sounds failed me.
“Oh shit. Cass. Cassie?”
I turned to face her, my body numb and eyes already tearing up. She scooted our items up on the conveyer belt. “We’ll take these, thanks. ”
“Can I see some ID?” the clerk asked, and Melissa thankfully pulled her license from her wallet.
I stared at the newer, more mainstream magazine in horror. Chrystle had sold her story to not only one magazine, but two. What else had she done? “Do you want to grab that?” Melissa asked through my shock.
I managed to shake my head when the clerk said, “Do you know him? Jack Carter? He used to live here, but he plays for the Mets now. Can you believe all the stuff him and his new girlfriend did to that poor girl? It’s crazy. I guess fame makes you do horrible stuff. ”
I turned to face her, multiple emotions running through me like a fucking tornado. She gasped as she noticed my face, her mouth twisting into a slight snarl. “Oh my gosh. You’re her! Jack’s girlfriend, Cassie. Right?” Her eyes narrowed with accusation.
I opened my mouth to say God knows what when Melissa rescued me. “What? Cassie lives in New York with Jack. Why the hell would she be here?” She grabbed the receipt, stuffing it in the bag before tugging me by the wrist toward the door.
“Jesus, Cassie. ”
I snapped out of my wedding-photo daze. “Sorry. ” I apologized, although I wasn’t quite sure what for.
“No. ” Meli shook her head. “That was brutal. ”
“Welcome to my life. ” I extended my hands with a shrug.
My mind raced with thoughts about Chrystle and thoughts about Jack, and how even all the way across the country I couldn’t get away from the media nightmare I now lived in. I wanted to focus on being happy right now, excited to see Gran and Gramps. I let those thoughts take over.
“You’ll love Gran and Gramps, Meli. They’re awesome. ” I looked at her, a large fake smile plastered on my face.
“I don’t want to love them,” she responded without even a glance.
“What the hell is wrong with you? After we fix me, we really need to do some work on your dysfunctional ass. ”
That garnered a glance. A nasty, wicked one. She pulled her car up to the curb and I hopped out, excited to see the family waiting inside for me. Dean popped his head out from behind the screen door, his eyes meeting mine. I widened mine, and he figured out what I was trying to convey and bolted through the door and to the side of our car.
“I’m glad you came, Melissa. ” He smiled at her, grabbing the bag from the store.
“You’ve only been trying to get me here for months. ” She turned a pointed glare at me.
What the hell?
“Cassie?” Gran’s voice spilled out from an open window.
“Is the kitten here already?” Gramps voice quickly followed.
I arched my eyebrows at Dean. “The kitten?” I asked with a laugh.
“Don’t ask. He started calling you that after you moved. We think it’s funny, so we never correct him. ”
Dean opened the door for us, and as I stepped inside my heart immediately filled with love. Nothing had changed since my last visit, except for the three new black-and-white photographs on the wall.
Melissa pointed at them. “Cass, you took these, right?”
“Yeah,” I answered with a small smile before tossing a quick glance at Dean. I turned my head, noticing one additional new portrait. It was taken the day Jack signed to play for the Diamondbacks. Five people were in the photo, and I was one of them.
